BALPA, has suffered in years past for its stigma of being a British Airways Association, though all reasoned professionals this day know that is no longer the case. Of course BA is important to them as is any flag carrier to its national association. But they have changed and evolved with the times and they are genuinely represetative now of the wider industry.
BALPA have made mistakes when judged against the hard light of retrospect, but hasn't everyone.
Yes some will be grieved at a mistake BALPA has made in the past. And will no longer have any dealings with them. That is their perogative.
I made a similar stance with Airtours holidays some years ago, after the holiday from hell. But I bet it wasn't like that for most Airtours passengers most of the time.
They will even tell you themselves they have made mistakes.
But they are not the genie in the bottle neither do they have a magic wand for bleeting sheep. In partnership with pilots they make recommendations that don't always work out. Just like the best stockbroker, sometimes it goes the other way, But in the vast overwhelming majority they get it right, in my opinion as they have this very week with the financially precarious BA
And this is written purely on the basis of T&C's, BALPA have much wider advantages than merely T&C's.
What those of us in Ryanair are seeing, is the usual "union busting" agenda, of spreading mis-information and lets be candid here, lies.
They constantly try to make the association that BALPA is a 3rd party who will tell you what to do, as the management currently do, that is far from true, as the current BA talks have proved, BALPA as a professional organisation, look objectively at the facts, look for the best solution that fits both the aspirations of the individual and the business case of the employer, and they then offer their professional "recommendation", based on the full picture, but is merely a recommendation. It is the Pilots who will vote, it is the pilots who decide in their careers. Much of a pilots career is in his/her hands and those of their fellow pilots.
BALPA merely facilitates both sides of the picture and uses its professional industry understanding, to help parties to reach workable solution that benefit BOTH employee and employer. Which is certainly not the current case in Ryanair.
BALPA are not some headmaster telling what to do, they are more like the mortgage advisor, they don't offer you onew product on a "take it or leave it", they give you all the options with their "recommendation" but they still leave and entrust the actual decision to you and your ballot.
With a union YOUR future is in YOUR HANDS.
Without one YOUR future is NOT in your hands but at the whim of your bosses.
A good reason for those bosses to try and lie and belittle that professional umbrella, under which your make the descions and they don't just dictate.
The very same bosses, ie MOL, (the others are just his lapdogs). Who directly lost or "cost" the company 100's of millions in calmitous and gung ho business decisons that cost dealy. His ego and midas touch delusions led to some schoolboy economic decisions and bungling gambles that back fired spectaularly. How he managged to stave off the sack with such gross financial negligence, is beyond most and wouldn't happen elsewhere.
And rather than admit it or pay back his excursions of ego, he sends those lapdogs to recoup the money from the companies employees. The pilots who actually delivered the company to trading proftiability, (Fuel hedging and failed Aer lingus attempt asside), in the same year it was all wiped out as the CEO blew the shareholders cash and delivered heavy losses.
Hmmmm No brainer.
Last edited by Fightback Fred; 24th Jun 2009 at 23:09.